# Why "Antartida" in Spanish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2000, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806 "2000-05-29T15:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/21 "2017-10-24T17:16:35Z")
In French, some older books distinguish between _l’Antarctide_, the continent, and _l’Océan Antarctique_, the surrounding ocean. I think it fell out of favour around the 1960s; now everybody says _l’Antarctique_ for the whole South pole. Since it referred to a continent, and there’s no continent under the North pole, _Arctide_ is unheard of. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/22 "2017-10-25T02:26:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Does a 17-year old zombie have to be unfrozen before resurrecting? I blame global warming and the melting of the ice shelves in Antarctis. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/23 "2017-10-25T03:58:30Z")
“[**Antártida**](https://es.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ant%C3%A1rtida) Español Pronunciación (AFI): [an̪.ˈtar.ti.ða] Etimología De antártico, a su vez del griego ανταρκτικως (antarktikos) ‘opuesto a ártico’, y la terminación -da para asimilarlo a otros nombres geográficos.” From _antártico_, which is from Greek _antarktikos_, ‘opposite the Arctic’, and the ending -_da_ is to make it resemble other geographic names. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/24 "2017-10-25T04:08:07Z")
[Spanish Wikipedia](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%A1rtida) also notes that Chile differs by calling it “Antártica.” Cite: [RAE](http://www.rae.es/) (2005). «Diccionario panhispánico de dudas - Antártida». lema.rae.es. Consultado el 15 de febrero de 2013. «Para denominar el conjunto de tierras situado en el polo sur terrestre son válidas las denominaciones Antártida y Antártica. La forma etimológica Antártica […] es de uso mayoritario en Chile […]. La forma Antártida […] es la única usada en España y la preferida en la mayor parte de América». The Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts says: To name the landmass located at the South Pole, both names \*Antártida \*and _Antártica_ are valid. The etymological form \*Antártica \*is used by the majority in Chile. The form \*Antártida \*is the only one used in Spain and is the preferred one in the greater part of the Americas. The Academia seems to imply that Antártica is the form backed up by etymology, while Antártida was made up just so that it would sound more like other places. I.e. the Academia just thought it sounded better that way. And they admit it’s a “doubt.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/25 "2017-10-25T04:11:31Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > and the ending -_da_ is to make it resemble other geographic names. Like América, África, Asia, and Australia, the names of the other continents in Spanish. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/26 "2017-10-25T23:43:00Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Like América, África, Asia, and Australia, the names of the other continents in Spanish. 🙂 Hey, I wish I knew what they were talking about too! Apart from _Atlántida_ for Atlantis, nothing comes to mind. So I went and looked up other Ancient Greek toponyms ending in iota sigma like Atlantis. And sure enough— Aeolis \> Eólida Argolis \> Argólide Colchis \> Colquida Elis \> Élide Locris \> Lócride Phocis \> Fócida Phthiotis \> Ftiótide Propontis \> Propóntida Not sure how they decide when to use -ida and when -ide. The Ancient Greek declensions of iota sigma words that I looked up have -idos in the genitive and -ida in the accusative. Couldn’t tell where exactly the -ide variant came from. Anyway, that sure answers the question of why the Real Academia chose to use an inflected Ancient Greek ending! Because it’s Ancient Greek, _¡claro!_ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/27 "2017-10-26T01:41:09Z")
And I would not be surprised if Chile uses “Antártica” just to be contrary to the Argentines. (The Chilean and Argentine claims in Antarctica overlap each other) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/28 "2017-10-26T11:47:26Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Not sure how they decide when to use -ida and when -ide. They tend to have both variants, with both being valid; I know I’ve heard both _Cólquida_ and _Cólquide_, _Argólida_ and _Argólide_. Which one got added to the dictionary or to a map, or used in a text, generally boils down to “which version did the person doing the work think of”. It can also depend on what comes right after: if the next word begins by a-, use the variant which ends in -e. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/29 "2017-10-26T13:09:04Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > And I would not be surprised if Chile uses “Antártica” just to be contrary to the Argentines. (The Chilean and Argentine claims in Antarctica overlap each other) Indeed, there is a chill in the relations between those countries. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/30 "2017-10-26T16:34:24Z")
> [@RadekPSK](#): > > It’s actually quite simple. > > The Arctic’s name is an adjective. That’s why we use the same word to say “the Arctic” but also “the Arctic Circle”. So the frozen continent in the south is supposed to be the “anti-Arctic”, but it’s not, is it? For some reason, they came up with a noun, instead of coining an adjective based on the word “Arctic”. Logically we should talk about “the Antarctic continent/shelf/ocean” and “the Antarctic” (if we wanted to keep both names similar). > > But someone chose a noun for the south continent. Well, the noun cannot be -ic or -tic. We say “the Atlantic” but that’s also an adjective (“the Atlantic Ocean”). The same with “the Pacific”. And we know that the noun from which “Atlantic” derives is “Atlantida”. > > Hence, the antarctic continent must be called “Antártida” in Portuguese and Spanish (“Antarctida” in English?). And maybe the northern area should be called “Ártida” (“Arctida” in English). > > Of course, “America” is a noun, and ends in -ica. So maybe we can keep “Antarctica” in English, but then we’d have to change the other one to “Arctica”. > > As it is, Spanish and Portuguese are correct because they show the difference between noun and adjective. > > In Brazil I only ever heard “Antártida” unless someone were referring to the brand of beer or using as an adjective: “a península antártica”. I just broke in to say that “Arctic” as in “Arctic Ocean” is not an adjective. No more than “North” in “North Pole”. Sometimes it is not clear whether a word modifying a noun is an adjective or a noun used attributively. But your internal grammar knows even if you don’t. Do you say Arctic Ocean or Arctic Ocean? The former, right. That marks an attributive. You might say the latter but only if you were contrasting the Ocean with something else, Arctic ice, maybe. The following is a true statement, as it happens, that illustrates the difference. There is a brown building on the McGill campus called the Brown building. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806/31 "2017-10-27T06:19:50Z")
> [@chique](#): > > And is it really so difficult for English-speakers to say “Paree” instead of Paris? That’s fine, I’ll start pronouncing it that way when the French quit calling London Londres. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-antartida-in-spanish/20806.md?page=1)